Pear Torte

No fancy pastry-making moves here. We've called this recipe "amazing" because the batter is prepared completely in a food processor - just measure and whirl. Juicy, ripe fall pears make the torte super moist. It's wonderful straight from the oven for brunch or dessert.

2 pears or apples
1 tsp. sugar (5 mL)
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon (1 mL)
1 pinch ground nutmeg
¾ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached (175 mL)
1 tsp. baking powder (5 mL)
¼ tsp. sea salt (1 mL)
½ cup butter, at room temperature (125 mL)
1 cup sugar (250 mL)
2 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (5 mL)

Garnish:
whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Lightly butter and flour an 8½ or 9” (22 or 23 cm) springform pan.

Peel and core pears. Slice in half, then slice each half into 4 wedges. In a medium-size bowl, stir 1 tsp. (5 mL) sugar with cinnamon and nutmeg. Add pears to bowl, then toss until evenly coated. In a separate small bowl, using a fork, stir flour with baking powder and sea salt.

Place butter and 1 cup (250 mL) sugar in a food processor. Whirl until smooth and creamy, occasionally scraping down sides. Add eggs, one at a time, whirling just until mixed. Pulse in vanilla. Add flour mixture and whirl just until mixed, scraping down sides as necessary. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Smooth surface. Arrange pear wedges in a decorative fashion over batter. They won't entirely cover surface.

Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven until top is a rich golden colour and a cake tester inserted in centre of torte comes out clean, 55-65 minutes.

This is a thin torte that does not rise much. Remove from oven to a rack. Run a knife around inside edge of pan. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove ring. Slice into wedges. If making ahead, cover with plastic and refrigerate up to 2 days. It's also great straight from the fridge the next morning with a cup of coffee.